May be I’m being a little harsh here but what do we know about the leadership credentials of Mohammad Yousuf (captain) and Kamran Akmal (vice-captain)? Yousuf has captained Pakistan in three Tests in the past, losing two away against Australia and winning the one at home against South Africa. As for Akmal, I haven’t the slightest of his experience as a leader but I’m sure some of our readers can enlighten me.
Yousuf and Akmal take on the extra responsibility in their stride
It’s clear that the PCB did not have much to choose from as captain after Younis Khan decided to take a break. But, by choosing Yousuf and Akmal, it is quite obvious that the seniority=superiority complex still exists in the set-up. Yousuf for his age obviously, and Akmal, as he’s one of the longest serving members in the side.
If, as the PCB believe, Younis is taking a break, how difficult would it have been to go back to Shoaib Malik as captain for the New Zealand Tests? I was surprised he wasn’t their first port of call as he has done it and done it well in the past. Then you have the Misbah Ul-Haq argument, whose axing looks even more strange now as not so long ago he was the vice-captain himself. Athough Yousuf has requested for him to be re-called, had he been there already then surely he’d have been a better option than Akmal as vice-captain, if not a better option than Yousuf as captain?
Yousuf and Akmal inadvertently discover a way of making Test cricket more exciting
May be Yousuf’s mellow character doesn’t tell us much about his hidden leadership skills, or neither does Akmal’s stupidity in shot selection tell us about his. It will be interesting to see how these two perform, and should they do well, even more interesting to see what happens when Younis comes back.
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November 20th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Stani
When Yousaf stood in as captain for the first time it was against Australia in Australia and he scored a superb century against the best bowling attck the world has seen in the last few decades. While people may have reservations about the way he got captaincy but I think if he will be able to carry Pakistan’s batting on his shoulders he might prove to be better than Younis Khan. All the other things like his poor fielding lack of expression will become meaningless as whether captain or not he still will be in the team and will be fielding on the ground so it won’t make any difference. We have already seen under YK that the quality of being expressive and talkative on the field has very negligible effect on the the results the bottom line is that a captain of a weak team has to lead from the front.
As regards Akmal again he doesn’t have the personality to be a statesman but all the matches we won under Younis he played an important part in them and if he carries his T20/Odi form to test matches he will be fine.
Younis has announced that he will be back for the Australian series as I predicted. The selectors are reluctant to send Misbah but I think he will join the team in the 2nd test.
So the window for Fawad Alam or Umar Akmal to cement their place in the Test team is only one match. Have you noticed how systematically PCB saved Malik and Misbah, they never sent a timely replacement for Misbah as a result of which Malik will play the first test by default and Misbah will be joining the team in the 2nd test.
Any other board would have moved on but PCB doesn’t like change and for some odd reason prefers the staus quo as far as the core group of players is concerned.
This team looks bad on paper but if we look at it only Misbah and Younis are out who were badly out of form, the players who are likely to replace them are Fawad and Umar who have been scoring runs both in domestic season and international matches so in reality the team is only lacking star power. In bowling the return of Asif will make a lot of difference as New zealand will be scared to make pitches which will help their seamers. So overall the team is quite strong then the one which played in SriLanka.
Pakistan will probably play Asif, Umar Gul and Aamer but if they go with three seamers they can only play either Ajmal or Kinerea? Who would you like to see in the team my vote is for Ajmal.
November 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
I’ve responded @ mine Stani.
November 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am
My gut feeling is that Misbah will be recalled.
November 21st, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Wasim
You make a good point. If Yousuf makes runs and puts the fielders in the right place then we have nothing to worry about.
Sometimes a silent leader is a better one. I was reading a Wayne Rooney interview the other day and he said sometimes when his England manager Fabip Capello walks past him in the corridor he doesn’t even look at him or acknowledge he’s there. This builds a disciplined respect in people and keeps them on edge. You can’t go around laughing and tapping bums like Younis.
Once again, Kamran Akmal can lead by example rather than in any other way. As for Umat Akmal, he’d be a regular in my team. Though it’s a lot of pressure, Fawad needs to take this chance.
I agree, it looks weak on paper but the names we had on paper before were just names, they hardly did their names justice. As a result, this team is actually stronger.
I think Asif will excel and burst back onto the scene. If it was one place for the spinners, my choice would be Ajmal too.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Time to move into positive territory. Maybe Yousuf will turn out great for Pakistan. Nothing else to do but watch.
November 26th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Scorpi
Let’s hope so but when was the last time Pakistan cricket was without incident off the field. I fear a rocking of the boat when Younis returns.